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Chelmsford selectmen sign on to dam-repair opposition

By Grant Welker, gwelker@lowellsun.com

Updated:
03/04/2013 07:07:34 AM EST

A proposal by the owner of the Pawtucket Dam to replace the structure's historic flashboard system has been strongly criticized by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in a letter to the federal agency that will ultimately rule on whether to grant a permit.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must first consider the preservation council's comments before making a ruling -- and the council was clear in its opposition to the pneumatic crest-gate system proposed by the dam's owner, Enel Green Power of Andover.

A crest-gate system would "substantially and irreversibly change the historical appearance, historic fabric, physical form, and functionality" of the dam, the council said in a letter to FERC on Feb. 22.

The dam is part of the Lowell National Historical Park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a major component of the system of canals and mills that fueled the industrial growth of the city.

"But for the Pawtucket Falls, there would be no Lowell," said Peter Aucella, assistant superintendent of the Lowell National Historical Park.

Another entity, the federal Department of the Interior, submitted on Feb. 26 to FERC its criticism of the whole process.

FERC's process, "in terms of its duty to minimize harm to a National Historic Landmark and its consideration of (environmental) alternatives, has been, in the view of the department, woefully inadequate.

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The Department of the Interior also criticized FERC for not making "every possible effort" to consider "reasonable alternatives" that wouldn't ruin the historic value of the dam. It didn't recommend any of the proposed changes.

Also last week, the town of Chelmsford re-emphasized its opposition to the proposed changes to the dam, for both the changes to the structure's historic character and for how the town says it could worsen flooding upstream.

The Chelmsford Board of Selectmen wrote to FERC saying more regular flooding has caused an "economic hardship" for people at the Williamsburg Condominiums complex, with 538 units on a bend in the Merrimack River.

The town has had "very serious concerns about the height elevation (of the river) that has occurred in recent years," Selectmen Chairman Jon Kurland said at a recent meeting.

More frequent flooding has led to much of the Williamsburg complex to be included in a flood zone for the first time, said Dinell Clark, a president of the condo association. Flood insurance, which is shared by condo owners, was $55,000 before the reclassification and $283,000 after, she said.

A sewer pipe that runs between the homes and the river is also in danger of being exposed or damaged because of erosion to the riverbank around it, Clark said. The complex has, along with the town, applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for grants that would cover three-fourths of an estimated $4 million project.

Potential changes to the dam date back to flooding in 2006 and 2007.

After flooding those years, FERC directed the owner of the dam, Enel Green Power, to install a flashboard system that would allow for more water to pass over the dam. The only system that would meet FERC's requirements is the crest-gate proposal, Victor Engel, Enel's vice president for engineering and construction, said in a letter to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in early February.

Enel cited benefits the proposed system would have, including "reducing the negative effects of upstream backwater and flooding," as well as benefits to resident and migratory fish, improvements to water quality, and "enhanced stabilized water level conditions" for recreational uses of the river. It also advances the development of hydropower, a priority of the Obama administration, Enel said.

Two other alternatives would not work, the company said.

A deeper gate on the dam would have required significant bedrock removal, Enel said, calling it "irreversible draconian effects on a historically significant structure."

Another option, a hybrid combining flashboards and a crest-gate system, would not have fully met FERC's requirements and was opposed by the National Park Service.

Enel, which draws hydroelectric energy from the dam, has offered a set of actions it could take to honor the dam's historic qualities if a crest-gate system were installed.

It would develop an interpretive exhibit featuring the two styles, incorporate the old style of the historic gatehouse into a new compressor building, and mimic the color and shape patterns of the flashboard system in the new system, it said in a letter last month.

The flashboard system works by using stacked boards on top of the dam that are supported by steel pins or rods, according to the National Council on Historic Preservation. The flashboards are designed to drop when water pressure from higher water levels pushes them downward, releasing more water down the dam.

The system has been in place since 1875.

The new crest-gate system would have inflatable so-called bladders at the top of the dam instead. By putting more or less air in the bladders, the system would be able to better and more quickly control the level of the water behind the dam.

Engel, the Enel vice president, could not be reached for comment on the opinions by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and Department of the Interior.

Opposition to the proposals from the two groups is "wonderful news," said Deb Forgione, co-chair of the Pawtucketville Citizens Council, which has been a vocal opponent of the proposed changes. If the proposal is still approved by FERC despite those arguments, it shows the agency all along "planned on approving this despite all the facts," she said.

"It's the cradle of the Industrial Revolution," Forgione said of the falls. "If you can dismantle that, there's nothing that can be saved. If they can destroy that, it sets a precedent."

Lowell National Historical Park was "very pleased to see outside parties assessing and supporting these positions that we've had," said Aucella, the National Park's assistant superintendent.

The National Park, the Pawtucket Citizens Council, the Williamsburg Condominiums Association and others have called for keeping the flashboard system, but returning it to an earlier version, with a different system of pin spacing and strength, among other changes that those groups say made flooding more common.

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